


Varian and the Cheshire

by CheshireChett



Category: Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 15:26:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16065980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheshireChett/pseuds/CheshireChett
Summary: Varian gets lost in the woods and ends up meeting a strange yet frustrating character.





	Varian and the Cheshire

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, look, a non-angsty fic lol. Isn’t that something

“Where-? Which way-?”

 

Varian looked between all the paths laid out in front of him. Which one did he come from? He has to decide soon because the sun will soon set, and if he’s home late, his dad isn’t going to be happy about it. He walked along the outside of the paths, trying to pick out anything recognizable.

 

“Where is it? Why can’t I find it?”

 

“Lost something?”

 

Startled, Varian looked up to where he heard the voice. A boy who appeared to be around 16 was staring down at him from one of the trees. The boy gazed at him with…are his eyes yellow?

 

“Um…h-hi,” Varian stammered. “Er, I guess so? I can’t seem to find the path I was on earlier today.”

 

“Do you have a destination?” the boy asked.

 

“Yeah, home.”

 

“Then head down this path.” The boy pointed to the path beside his tree. Nothing looked familiar there, but Varian decided to trust his help.

 

“Oh! Thank you so much!” Varian smiled at the yellow-eyed boy, and he went on his way down the path. Now he won’t be late getting home! He continued down it for a good long while before spotting the end of it. Grinning, Varian kicked his walking up to a jog and emerged from the path to…

 

“Wha-?”

 

He was back in the same area his was in a few minutes ago? That damn boy sent him on the wrong path!

 

“Back so soon?”

 

Varian turned toward the voice, which was in another tree.

 

“You sent me on the wrong path!” Varian yelled, marching over to the tree and glaring up at the boy.

 

“Did I?” the boy pondered. “Well, home is such a vague destination, you can’t really blame me for sending you on the wrong path.”

 

Varian deepened his glare. He then sighed, releasing that glare.

 

“I’m trying to get back to Old Corona,” he said. “Which path do I take to get there?”

 

The boy smirked. He pointed to the path that was three paths away from his tree.

 

“That one.”

 

Varian took a deep breath. This better be the right one. He nodded and entered the path. It looked almost exactly the same as the previous path, Varian noticed. Or maybe it just seems like that since people would say that the trees all look the same. That’s only when you get lost, though. Varian’s not lost. At least, he hopes he’s not.

 

He spotted the end of the path and briskly walked toward it, only to find himself back in the clearing. Growing frustrated, Varian scanned the trees in search for the boy.

 

“You sent me down the wrong path _again_!!” he shouted.

 

“Well.” The boy appeared in the tree in front of him. “You did say you were _trying_ to get to Old Corona. Very well done on trying.”

 

Varian gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.

 

“I _want_ to go home to Old Corona before the sun sets,” he growled.

 

“Oh, now you’re giving me a time limit.” The boy tapped his chin. “Very well, go this way, then. It’ll get you there faster.”

 

Should he trust the yellow-eyed boy a third time? Third time’s the charm, right? A fast route to home. Varian took a deep breath and decided to trust the boy one last time. He entered the path, and sure enough, it didn’t take very long to get to the other side and back into…

 

“Oh COME ON!!” He stomped to the middle of the clearing. “Alright, that’s _it_! I am _not_ trusting another word from you!”

 

“Fair enough.” The voice came from behind him, and he spun around to glare at the boy. “You did trust me three times, so that’s a good number to stop on. Three time’s the charm, right?” He smirked at Varian, his yellow eyes glinting in the setting sunlight. Varian glared at him and turned away.

 

“I’m choosing the path this time,” Varian announced.

 

“And if the path you choose is the wrong one?” the boy asked. Varian glanced back at him.

 

“Then I’ll try another one!”

 

“And if that-“

 

“Then I’ll try another! And another! I’ll keep trying until I find the path that takes me home! I’ll do this all night if I have to!”

 

The boy blinked. “But you said-“

 

“ _Never_ _mind_ _what_ _I_ _said!!_ ” Varian panted. Boy, this guy is really getting on his nerves. The alchemist turned away and focused on choosing the next path. He went for the one a little to his left and entered it. A few minutes later, he emerged back in the clearing. The boy was in the same tree as he was when Varian went into the path he chose, carefully watching him.

 

“Ok, so that wasn’t the right one…” Varian muttered. He quickly chose the next path and went in. When he arrived back at the clearing, he went into another path, and then another one after that. He even went into the same paths he did the first three times.

 

Finally, after trying all the paths, Varian collapsed in the middle of the clearing, tears in his eyes.

 

“This is useless! How can none of the paths go to where I want?! It doesn’t make any sense!” He covered his face with his hands. “I just want to go home…”

 

There was a soft thud behind him and the rustling of the grass as someone walked toward him. He peeked from behind his hands and found that the boy had climbed down from his tree and walked past him. The boy came to the other side of the clearing and turned toward Varian, his yellow eyes burning.

 

“Then stop blindly choosing and see.” He pulled back a bush between two paths and gestured at Varian to go in. Shakily, Varian stood and walked over to him. He paused and looked at the boy.

 

“This better not be a trick,” he hissed. The boy said nothing, and Varian walked in. It took what felt like forever before he spotted an opening ahead of him. He walked toward it at a steady pace and went through it, half expecting to be back in the clearing.

 

Only this time, he was met by the sight of his home. He smiled, tears forming in his eyes again. _Home_. But…wait. If none of the paths facing in that direction went to here…then how did…? Varian puzzled at this as he went into his house. He closed the door to his lab and leaned against it, still questioning what happened. None of the paths curved. They just went straight. So how…?

 

Varian’s dad soon entered the lab from the opposite door.

 

“Ah, I thought I heard you come in, son,” Quirin said. “So, how’d it go?”

 

“How’d what go?” Varian asked absentmindedly. Quirin raised an eyebrow.

 

“The experiment you were so excited about doing earlier today,” he reminded his son.

 

“Oh…” Varian thought for a moment. “Oh, that one. Yeah, it went fine.”

 

Quirin frowned. “Varian, are you alright? You seem rather…distracted.”

 

Varian shook his head. “It was so weird, Dad. On my way home, I came across this clearing that had multiple paths, and I don’t remember ever coming across it so I tried to find the one that looked familiar. But then this guy shows up and asks ‘lost something?’ Oh, and I should mention the guy had yellow eyes which was kind of weird but interesting. Anyway, I told him that I was trying to get home and-“

 

Varian continued relaying the story to his dad, who had sat down in a chair and watched as his son paced back and forth and telling the story.

 

“-And then he pulled back this bush and said, ‘Then stop blindly choosing and see.’ So I went down that path and found myself back home! Isn’t that weird, Dad?”

 

Quirin stared at his son, his expression blanked. Finally, he smiled and softly chuckled. Varian raised an eyebrow, confused.

 

“Wha- what’s so funny?”

 

Quirin gazed at Varian, a smile on his face.

 

“Son, I believe you encountered a Cheshire.”

 

Varian raised his eyebrows, then frowned.

 

“A Cheshire? What’s a Cheshire?” he inquired.

 

“A Cheshire is a tricky magical being who take delight in making people frustrated,” Quirin explained. “I myself have never encountered one, thank goodness, but Cheshires are known for sending people down paths that go nowhere but to their roosting place.”

 

Roosting place…? “Oh, you mean the clearing with all the paths?” Quirin nodded. Varian was finally getting it, but at the same time, not. There has to be a logical explanation for the looping paths that don’t bend.

 

“But…how-?”

 

“It’s best not to think about, Varian.” Quirin stood. “After all, they are magical.” He was about to turn to leave the lab, but stopped. “Oh, and another thing about Cheshires. They do enjoy tricking people, but they are also fond of teaching lessons. It’s said that the last thing a Cheshire says to you is a bit of advice for the future.”

 

Varian thought back to the last thing the boy said to him. Stop blindly choosing and see? What kind of advice is that? What’s it supposed to mean?

 

“But…I don’t understand.”

 

Quirin placed his hand on Varian’s shoulder.

 

“Maybe you won’t understand it now, but you will. After all, it’s advice for the _future_.” Quirin smiled at Varian before turning and leaving the lab. Varian stood there, still confused, but a voice reassured him that his future self will understand it. He doesn’t need to worry about it right now. Shrugging, he went to his desk and got to work.


End file.
